Fine antique French Napoleon III to Belle Epoque era silver plate & porcelain ramekin service for six, a 12pc set with inserts and also including the original fitted storage and/or presentation box! This set comes from the shops of the old Palais Royal, formerly the Richelieu Palace, which became a shopping and theater arcade in mid-1700s and host to Kings, Emperors, Elite of Europe and abroad. If you have been there, you know just the arcade I mean. I was just there, and they're renovating it to become a modern luxury retailer's 'mall' of sorts, which service it was in when this needlework set would have first been purchased, sometime in late 1700s to as late as perhaps 1830. The central court of the Palace grounds is a garden, and it is surrounded by apartments on upper floors, and on the ground floor, a great array of boutiques and shops that would have then carried the finest luxury goods possible to acquire. Everything from large and expansive (and expensive) layered vanity sets for royals, with silversmith names like Biennais, Odiot, earliest Puiforcat, and loads of fine old French opaline glass trinkets and objects. You'd have found the finest in French silver, glass, clothing and finery of leather goods. You'd find exotic carved and sculpted items, fine foods and restaurants catering to the very highest strata of culture. And from that lauded early shopping center comes this elegant set.
Excellent condition. I believe there's one small chip to the rim of a porcelain insert, all others and the silver plate holders are in great shape. The box does show a bit of its age but, as you can see, is in fine condition when that age is considered. See pictures for measurements.
